The Bombing of Britian's Major Cities by Germany from 1940-1949

446 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Britain after world war 1

The Bombing of Britian's Major Cities by Germany from 1940-1949

Hitler never truly wanted to go to war with Britain, he thought of

them more as a natural ally and that he would just make himself a

larger

empire in the East once he had defeated the USSR. However, this was

not the view of Winston Churchill. He was not prepared to make any

kind of a deal with Hitler. The German army then devised Operation Sea

Lion (the code name for the invasion on Britain). The main idea of

Operation Sealion was to primarily target the British Air Bases to

cripple the RAF (Royal Air Force).

The Battle Of Britain, a battle for the domination of the skies began

on the 1 July 1940 when the first German air craft crossed the English

Channel. However, even though the leader of the Luftwaffe, Hermann

Goering believed that he had superior planes and pilots, due to his

bad decision making, they were losing the battle which lead to him

changing his tactics.

In September 1940 the Germans changed tactics; they decided to attack

the city of London instead of targeting the RAF. This change in

tactics gave the RAF time to regroup however this new tactic was the

most devastating part of the war for the civilians.

This Blitzkrieg led to British cities being intensively bombed over

the next eight months. The fact that Hitler had changed from attacking

the RAF to attacking the cities, basically destroying Britain, it

became obvious that he had abandoned his plans to invade as Hitler

never would have wanted to inherit a city of rubble. Technically

speaking the Battle of Britain ended when the Blitz started.

The Germans mainly targeted Factories, Ports, Universities or other

industrial areas that were important to the British people such as

London, Liverpool, Oxford. Although most of the time the German

attacks rarely targeted civilian areas there were sometimes terror

bombings on the civilian areas.

The main reason that the Germans targeted London was because it was

Show More
Related

  • Why the Major Cities of Britain were Bombed by the Germans in 1940 and 1941

    373 Words  | 1 Pages

    Why the Major Cities of Britain were Bombed by the Germans in 1940 and 1941

    Read More

  • Brief Summary of World War II in Europe

    353 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the Belgian town of Dunkirk, British Naval forces rescued the bulk of the army along with some French and Belgian units. Due to the French surrendering, Germans attacked North Africa to support the failed Italian efforts. Under the leadership of General Erwin Rommel, German forces pushed eastward to take Egypt until the British at the Battle of El Alamain halted their advance. U-Boats, which were kind of like submarines, were the Germans' main defense against Britain for naval battle. Adolf Hitler, the German leader planned all these offensives in his goal to rule the world.

    Read More

  • The Rites of Spring by Modris Eksteins

    1030 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...onger. But a generation later, the game was on once again; the war aims were much the same. Germany felt it must defend its way of life and stand up for progress. Britain wanted to defend the status quo but it used the excuse of the invasion of another country as the immediate pretext for entry: first Belgium, later Poland. In both world wars, Germany was the innovator, morally and technologically. Britain and France were fighting previous wars while Germany led the way in technology, techniques and tactics.

    Read More

  • The Battle of Britain as a Turning Point in the Defeat of German in World War Two

    2198 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Battle of Britain as a Turning Point in the Defeat of German in World War Two

    Read More

  • the battle of britain

    799 Words  | 2 Pages

    ”Battle of Britain, in World War II, a series of air battles between Great Britain and Germany, fought over Britain from Aug. to Oct., 1940. As a prelude to a planned invasion of England, the German Luftwaffe attacked British coastal defenses, radar stations, and shipping. On Aug. 24 the attack was shifted inland to Royal Air Force installations and aircraft factories in an effort to gain control of the air over S England. Failing to destroy the RAF, the Germans began (Sept. 7) The night bombing, or blitz, of London. Heavy night bombings of English cities continued into October, when the attack was shifted back to coastal installations. The Germans gradually gave up hope of invading England, and the battle tapered off by the end of October. Though heavily outnumbered, the RAF put up a gallant defense; radar, used for the first time in battle by Britain, played an important role. The Germans lost some 2,300 aircraft; the RAF 900. The Battle of Britain was the first major failure of the Germans in World War II, and it thwarted Hitler's plan to force Britain to accept peace or face invasion” (Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia).

    Read More

  • Strategic Bombing During World War 2

    4484 Words  | 9 Pages

    The strategic bombing campaign significantly shortened the length of the war. It disabled the production industry and weakened the German morale.

    Read More

  • World War 2 Turning Point Essay

    652 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Battle of Britain started on July 10, 1940 after German air forces flew over Britain, dropping bombs and clashing with opposing British air forces. It is described as one of the main turning points in the war, due to the fact that it caused the Germans to come to a realization that

    Read More

  • Germany after World War II Part 1

    1079 Words  | 3 Pages

    Germany experienced a lot of economic changes after Germany was split into East Germany and West Germany. Initially, West Germany was established as a federal republic but was established as it’s own independent nation in 1955. Many events happened in West Germany from the 1950s to the 1980s before Germany became one nation again. There were events such as “oils price shocks, generous social programs, rising deficits and loss of control.” East Germany’s economy was strong due to the Soviet Union’s reliance on Eastern Germany’s production of machine tools, chemicals and electronics. It became appealing to reunite with West Germany when the value of East Germany’s currency became “worthless” outside of it’s country because Eastern Germany was relying on the Soviet Union’s demand (Marketline).

    Read More

  • The Atrocious Bombing of Dresden, Germany

    1197 Words  | 3 Pages

    by the US Air Force in October of 1944. It was a city that was also known

    Read More

  • The World War II: Air War

    1189 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...r impact on World War II and the world. The war ended once Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945 and the Allies took the victory. Their victory however, could not have happened without the impact of airplanes.

    Read More

  • The Allies and the Atomic Bomb

    773 Words  | 2 Pages

    A single deadly weapon that could destroy the whole world was successfully developed during World War II. This weapon was no other weapon but the atomic bomb. Under the cooperation of the major powers in the Allied forces, the atomic bomb was produced. Soon after the success of the production of the atomic bomb, the major powers in the Allies agreed to use the atomic bomb. Due to their hatred against the Japanese, the Allies dropped the atomic bomb on Japan and showed no regrets for carrying out the plan. The United States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom and China are among the major powers of the Allied Forces that unanimously agreed to drop the atomic bomb on Japan.

    Read More

  • World War II And WWII Impact

    2303 Words  | 5 Pages

    World War I and World War II both had significant social, economic, and political impacts on the lives of African Americans and brought enormous change within American society. Many African Americans viewed the war as an opportunity to fight for their country in exchange for equal citizenship rights at home. Unfortunately this was achieved through neither WWI nor WWII despite the irony of the US fighting a war for democracy abroad when discrimination existed on the home front. The central themes explored in which African American lives have been touched by the World wars are migration, military segregation, racial violence and political power. It is evident that although WWI and WWII did not amount to the momentous leap forward that African Americans desired in the pre-war years, the events undoubtedly had profound impacts on the lives of African Americans and ultimately paved the way for the Civil rights movement.

    Read More

  • Winston Churchill: We Shall Fight on the Beaches

    930 Words  | 2 Pages

    As explained before, this speech was able to significantly restore and raise morale. It prepared Britain for its ‘Darkest Hour’ and how long of a road it would be. This is considered one of Churchill’s finest speeches to this day and how it was so effective amongst the British people. It proved that a valiant defense and an effective leadership could overcome a significantly larger army. Churchill’s speech was not in vain. The blitzkrieg on Britain was a strategic German failure and the consistent bombing of London was able to in some cases improve morale with the British people and was able to show how resilient the island nation can be. For once, Nazi Germany suffered its first major defeat blazing a war trail throughout Europe.

    Read More

  • The Direct Effect of World War II

    686 Words  | 2 Pages

    It was said that World War I would be the war to end all wars; unfortunately U.S. President Woodrow Wilson was wrong. In 1939 Germany invaded Poland and the global conflict, World War II, began. Fought from 1939 to 1945, World War II consisted of the Allied Powers and the Axis Powers. The Axis Powers were led by Germany, Japan, and Italy. The Allied Powers were led by the United States, Britain, France, and several other countries. In total, over sixty million people were killed, making World War II the deadliest conflict in modern history. The intervention of the United States after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 brought the end of the war 4 years later.

    Read More

  • Great Britain During World War II

    1434 Words  | 3 Pages

    It’s 4:30am on September 1st, 1939 and the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein awaits for the order to open fire on the Polish garrison of the Westerplatte Fort, Danzig in what was to become the first military engagement of World War II. Meanwhile, sixty two German divisions supported by 1,300 fighter planes prepared for the invasion of Poland. Fifteen minutes later the invasion would take place and spark the beginning of World War II. Two days later at 9am Great Britain would send an ultimatum to Germany, demanding that they pull from Poland or go to war with Great Britain. Four hours later the Ultimatum would expire and Great Britain would officially be at war with Germany on September 3rd, 1939. Six hours later France would also declare war on Germany.

    Read More

More about The Bombing of Britian's Major Cities by Germany from 1940-1949

Open Document